When Tagovailoa came out for Alabama's first drive of the second half, many were left confused by the move. Hurts was 25-2 in his career as a starter, and the idea of giving a true freshman his first competitive playing time in the national championship against one of the best defenses in college football seems like a recipe for disaster.

But Saban knew what he was doing.

Tagovailoa led Alabama to their first points of the game and eventually he threw the game-winning touchdown in overtime to seal the title for the Tide.

While speaking with ESPN's Tom Rinaldi after the game, Saban gave a simple explanation for why he decided to make the switch at quarterback after Hurts' play had carried the team so far in the season.

"Well, I just thought we had to throw the ball in the game, and I thought he could do it better," Saban said of Tagovailoa. "And he did."

You can watch Saban's comments below.

It's true — in his first half performance, Hurts completed just three passes for 21 yards and failed to get the Alabama offense moving in any significant way against the stout defense of the Georgia Bulldogs. But once the Crimson Tide made the switch, their offense came alive, and Tagovailoa would finish the game with 166 yards and three touchdowns in just a half game's worth of work.